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Sterling had a poor day yesterday undermined by the release of a string of weak economic data which included worse than expected CBI realised sales, fewer than anticipated new mortgage approvals and the change in the value of lending to individuals being lower than the market predicted. With very little data out from the UK today, the markets will look elsewhere for influence. So, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro struggled yesterday following its strong end to last week as economic confidence figures dropped by more than expected in July. Investors are also starting to become nervous that the ECB President may not be able to deliver on his comments last week which alluded to the ECB restarting the bond buying program to drive down sovereign debt yields. Despite this caution, Italy’s benchmark 10 year bond auction yesterday saw its yields fall to 5.96%; but, did not drop by as much as many expected following the ECB Presidents comments last week. Spanish flash GDP was poor and confirmed the country remains in recession; but, the reading did come in at the expected level of -0.4% (it is slightly alarming that Spanish GDP figures are better than the -0.7% in the UK!). German retail sales, Eurozone unemployment data and inflation estimates are all on the agenda today; but, the focus will remain on the ECB press conference on Thursday. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar had a mixed day yesterday due to the lack of significant data released in the US and with the markets tentative about what the rest of the week may bring. The Federal Open Market Committee meetings start today; but, the statement on Wednesday is expected to be much more influential. US consumer confidence figures will be released and should at least give some indication of the state of the US economy. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the best performer yesterday was the Swedish krona which was particularly strong due to the much better than expected GDP data released. Overnight, business confidence figures from New Zealand and building approvals data from Australia was released. Later on today we have Canadian GDP data; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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Sterling continued to strengthen against the US dollar on Friday; but, remained weak against the euro as risk appetite returned to the market due to the renewed confidence in Europe following the President of the ECB’s comments on Thursday. Manufacturing, construction and services Purchasers Managers Index (PMI) figures are released throughout the week which will be closely monitored by investors following last week’s poor preliminary GDP data. The other main event will be the Bank of England’s decision on interest rates and quantitative easing following last month’s decision to inject an additional £50bn into the economy. Both are widely expected to be kept on hold despite calls for more monetary easing from some quarters. The statement that follows should provide some insight into the central banks opinion on the state of the UK’s economy at present. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro faired fairly well on Friday following news that Germany, France and Italy all supported the ECB President’s attitude of doing anything to support the euro. However, the German central bank once again announced its opposition to the bond buying program that the ECB President hinted towards on Thursday. The ECB President’s comments have heightened expectations for the press conference that follows the ECB’s interest rate decision on Thursday (widely expected to be kept on hold at 0.75%) and anything short of a clear plan for decisive action will most likely see the euro struggle. Data released this week includes Spanish flash GDP; Italy’s benchmark 10 year bond auction and Euro wide manufacturing PMI. The main focus though will remain on the potential requirement for a full Spanish international government bailout, Greece’s ability to convince its creditors that it had done enough to deserve its next tranche of funding and the aforementioned ECB press conference. Call in now for the latest update and a live quote.

The US dollar struggled on Friday due to the increased appetite in the market. Advanced GDP data came in slightly above expectations although growth had dropped to 1.5% for the second quarter. The first quarter figures and fourth quarter figure from last year were revised upwards and because of this expectations of further quantitative easing to be implemented this week have receded. The Federal Open Market Committee statement later this week will be important and is expected to give more guidance on keeping interest rates low until 2015. A busy week for the US includes a raft of employment based data with the most influential release being the non – farm pay roll figures which are released on Friday. Both the ISM manufacturing and non- manufacturing PMI data will also be released this week which the markets will hope show an improvement on the poor manufacturing data released last week. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the commodity backed currencies continued to perform relatively well on Friday with renewed confidence in the markets. On the data front, Japanese retail sales figures demonstrated a rise of 0.2% whilst national CPI data released showed a deflation of 0.2%. A busy week for data includes building approvals, retail sales and trade balance data from Australia; business confidence figures from New Zealand; Canadian GDP data; Chinese manufacturing PMI and Swiss retail sales figures will also be released. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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A mixed week saw sterling reach fresh 2.5 year highs of €1.2875/1 against the euro before weakening off after global risk appetite increased and appalling UK GDP data was released which saw sterling strengthen by nearly 2.5cents against the US dollar yesterday. The preliminary GDP figures showed that the UK’s economy contracted by 0.7% when only 0.2% had been anticipated making it the longest “double-dip” recession for 50 years. Some economists feel the figures are likely to be inaccurate whilst others hope the Olympics will help growth in the short term; however, irrespective of both of these factors the fundamental problems still remain and the UK’s economy is extremely weak. With very little data out from the UK today, the markets will look to the US and to news from Europe for influence; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro had an extremely poor start to the week reaching historic lows against a raft of currencies before rebounding in the later stages following comments made by the European Central Bank (ECB) President on Thursday. The ECB President stated that the “ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the Euro" and hinted towards more bond buying to drive down the yields on sovereign debt. Following these comments, yields on Spanish and Italian bonds dropped with Spanish bond yields falling below the 7% mark for the first time this week. The markets also reacted positively on Wednesday following one of the members of the ECB suggesting giving the proposed European Stability Mechanism (ESM) a banking license would go some way to help the European debt crises. Earlier in the weak the markets had been extremely risk adverse with fears that Spain may need a full international government bailout and worries over Greece’s ability to convince its creditors that it had done enough to deserve its next tranche of fund of €31.5b. Despite the comments from the President of the ECB, these fears still remain and we will have to see how the situation develops in the up and coming weeks. On the agenda today, German inflation data and Spanish unemployment data will be released. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar performed well in early part of this week as investors continued their flight to safety in such uncertain times; however, as confidence in Europe gathered pace the dollar weakened off sharply against the majority of currencies. A raft of bad data released this week did little to help confidence in the US which included figures showing the number of new homes sold and the number of homes pending sale both dropping sharply in the previous month. Manufacturing PMI data was slightly worse than expected whilst the Richmond Manufacturing Index was much worse than anticipated. Finally core durable goods orders fell by 1.1%. On a slightly more positive note, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits for the first time dropped by much more than originally forecast. Out today, advanced GDP data is released which is expected to have dropped to 1.5%; but, this reading would still be significantly stronger than the UK and much of Europe. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the Japanese yen performed well at the beginning of the week due to its safe haven status before weakening off as global risk sentiment shifted. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand voted to keep interest rates on hold at 2.5% as was widely anticipated, whilst Chinese manufacturing PMI was marginally better than expected providing some slight relief to the markets. Japanese retail sales figures and inflation data was released overnight and economic confidence figures from Switzerland will be released first thing this morning. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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Daily Currency Note

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Sterling had an extremely poor day yesterday, losing 1 cent against both the euro and the US dollar whilst weakening off against the majority of other currencies as much worse than expected preliminary GDP data was released. The figures are ominous for the state of the UK’s economy depicting a contraction of 0.7% when only 0.2% had been anticipated. 3 straight quarters of negative growth makes this the worse double-dip recession since the Second World War and has led to many economists predicting that another round of Quantitative Easing could be implemented in the up and coming months. The preliminary figures are often disputed by a raft of economists who expect a better reading when the figures are revised next month; however, even if the figures are revised upwards, the best we can realistically hope for would be a dismal flat reading of 0.0% which underlines just how weak the economy is. On a more positive note, business confidence levels have reached the highest levels since 2010. With very little data out from the UK today, the markets will look to the US and to news from Europe for influence; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro was relatively strong yesterday after one of the members of the European Central Bank (ECB) suggested that giving the proposed European Stability Mechanism (ESM) a banking license may go some way to help the Europe debt crisis by giving it access to cash from the ECB and in turn meaning there would be greater funds available to bailout struggling nations. The news provided some relief to the markets with Spanish bond yields dropping slightly after reaching fresh highs; however, the fundamental problems the Eurozone faces still remain. On a more negative perspective, the German business climate figures released were much lower than expected. Today, German business climate figures, Euro-wide money supply and Italian retail sales figures will be released, whilst the ECB President is also speaking. Call in now for the latest update and a live quote.

The US dollar had a mixed day as risk appetite improved due to the proposals put forward in Europe; whilst also trying to digest the terrible GDP figures from the UK. On the data front, figures released showed that the number of new homes sold had dropped sharply in the previous month. A fairly busy day for data today includes figures showing the change in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits, the change in the number of homes pending sale and core durable goods orders. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the Japanese yen was weakened as risk appetite tentatively returned to the market. The International Monetary Fund warned China that “global headwinds are increasing”; but, suggested that China was doing well to cope with the dire situation experienced by most of the world’s economies. The IMF downgraded China growth forecast to 8%, a level of growth that the majority of world could only dream of. Overnight, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand voted to keep interest rates on hold at 2.5% and the Governor of the Bank of Japan was also speaking. Call now for a live rate and the latest update.

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Daily Currency Note

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Sterling was fairly strong yesterday despite having a poor start to the day following the release of figures showing that number of new mortgages approved was much lower than anticipated. The main data released today will be the preliminary GDP figures which are expected to show the market contracted by 0.2% extending the “double-dip” recession that we are currently experiencing. Call in now for the latest update and a live quote.

The euro was relatively weak yesterday dropping below the 1.2050 mark against the US dollar as fears surrounding Greece and Spain dominated the headlines. Services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures released across Europe yesterday were much worse than expected showing that the Eurozone’s economy continues to contract. Spanish bond auctions continued to rise to 7.636% as some economists predict that Spain may need a full international government bailout within the next 3 weeks as Catalonia’s regional government looks set to follow Valencia in applying for aid from the Spanish government. More worries came as the Greek Prime Minister suggested that the countries recession is even deeper than first thought and now expects a contraction of 7% this year which is significantly worse than the 5% contraction the Bank of Greece had predicted. Greece must now convince its creditors that it has done enough to deserve its next tranche of fund of €31.5b; furthermore, EU officials warned that Greece may need yet another bailout. German business climate sentiment figures are announced today; but, the markets will be fixated on any developments in Greece or Spain. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar performed well yesterday as investors continued their flight to safety in such uncertain times. On the data front, manufacturing PMI data was slightly worse than expected whilst the Richmond Manufacturing Index was much worse than anticipated underlining the headwinds the world’s largest economy is currently facing. Out today, figures demonstrating the number of new homes sold in the previous month will be announced. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the Japanese yen continued to strengthen due to its safe haven status whilst the Hungarian forint and South African rand were particularly weak. Canadian core retail sales beat expectations yesterday; whilst, Chinese manufacturing PMI was marginally better than expected providing some slight relief to the markets. Trade balance data from New Zealand and Japan released overnight beat expectations; but, Australian Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures were slightly lower than anticipated. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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Sterling had a poor day yesterday, losing ground against the majority of currencies after hitting fresh highs of €1.2875/£1 against the euro in the morning; but, remained strong against the Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and South African rand as risk aversion dominated the market. UK 10 year bond yields dropped to record lows of 1.44% highlighting the concerns of investors’ looking for a safer haven for their money. With very little data out today, the focus will remain on Greece, Spain and Italy to influence risk sentiment; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro had a mixed day yesterday, dropping below the 1.21 mark against the US dollar before recovering in the afternoon. The main data released yesterday was the Consumer Confidence figures from July which are at the lowest level since August 2009. Concerns regarding Greece, Spain and Italy were at the forefront of traders’ minds yesterday, with the markets so volatile that Italian regulators banned short selling (where traders bet on a stock price dropping) until the end of the week whilst Spain banned short selling on all stocks for three months and this ban could be extended further. Fears that Spain may need a full international government bailout drove Spanish 10-year bonds to a new euro-era high of 7.565% yesterday; well above the 7% level which is deemed unsustainable for government debt repayments, whilst the Spanish IBEX stock market fell to the lowest point since 2003. Greek default concerns came to light again with rumours of a Greek exit as the Greek creditors (The European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) arrived in Athens to discuss the countries fiscal imbalance. More bad news came over night as Moody’s (one of the big three credit rating agencies) placed the Netherlands, Luxembourg and most influentially Germany’s debt ratings on a negative outlook. Out today, the services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures across Europe will be released, the vast majority of which are expected to show a contraction. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar performed fairly well yesterday as investors’ sought safer havens for their money due to the on-going problems that Europe faces. Out today, Manufacturing PMI data will be released and the Chairman of the Federal Bank is also speaking; but, the focus will remain firmly on Europe. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the suggestion from a member of China’s central bank that growth in the world’s second largest economy would continue to slow down, damaged market sentiment further and caused the commodity backed currencies to be sold off with the South African rand, Australian dollar and New Zealand dollar particularly weak. The Japanese yen was the best performing currency yesterday due to its safe haven status. Chinese manufacturing PMI was released first thing this morning and the Governor for the Reserve Bank of Australia was also speaking whilst Canadian core retail sales will be released later on this afternoon. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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Sterling had a mixed day on Friday reaching fresh highs against the euro of €1.2865/£1 but weakened against the US dollar after the bailout of the Spanish banking sector was confirmed during the Euro group meetings. Public sector borrowing figures released on Friday were worse than expected with higher public deficit and borrowing; but, this had little impact on the markets with the news from Europe dominating market sentiment. The main data released this will be the preliminary GDP figures which are expected to show the market contracted by 0.2% confirming that the UK remains in recession. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro had an extremely poor day on Friday weakening to fresh 3.5 year lows against sterling, a 2 year low against the US dollar, a 12 year low against the Japanese yen and a record low against the Australian dollar after the announcement that Spanish banking industry bailout had been approved by the EU finance ministers. This market reaction is the opposite to what happened when the bailout was first proposed which saw the euro strengthen and may well have been due to the lack of details outlined. Further worries from Spain came as Spanish officials suggested that the economy would not be out of recession until 2014 and that the region of Valencia is preparing to ask for a bailout from the central government. This negativity saw Spanish benchmark 10 year bond yields rise to record high of above 7.2% whilst the spread between German and Spanish 10 year bonds also hit a record high which highlights the concerns of investors’ with the evident flight to safety. Out this week, German business climate sentiment figures are announced and services and manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures across Europe will be released; however, the main focus will remain firmly on Spain and Greece once more as investors begin to worry about its ability to pay back its debt. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar had a mixed day on Friday as risk aversion dominated the market and investors looked for safer havens for their money; but, was weakened due to investors speculating on the Federal bank loosening monetary policy in the near future. A busy week for data in the US includes advanced GDP which is expected to have dropped to 1.5%, the change in the number of homes pending sale and the number of new homes sold will also be announced. Other data released included the change in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits, core durable goods orders and the Chairman of the Federal Bank is also speaking. Call in now for a live quote and the latest news.

Elsewhere, poor Canadian Consumer Price Index (CPI) released on Friday showed a sharper rate of deflation than the markets had predicted. The Japanese yen was one of the best performing currencies due to its safe haven status; whilst, the Czech Koruna and Hungarian forint were particularly weak. Australian PPI figures released first thing this morning beat expectations, the Governor for the Reserve Bank of Australia is speaking later on this week and CPI figures will also be released. One of the main releases this week will be the interest rate decision form the Reserve Bank of New Zealand which is expected to be kept on old at 2.5%; whilst trade balance data is also released. Chinese manufacturing PMI could also potentially be a market mover as global risk sentiment often shifts if the figures released are significantly away from market predictions with commodity backed currencies particularly vulnerable. A busy week for Japan includes trade balance data, retails sales figures and CPI data; whilst Canadian core retail sales are also released. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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Sterling had a strong week against the euro reaching fresh highs of €1.2830/£1 as fears surrounding the Eurozone were once again at the forefront of traders’ minds. A busy week for the UK included the IMF downgrading the UK’s growth forecast in 2012 from 0.8% to 0.2% and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures came in lower than expected posting a figure of 2.4%. The Bank of England’s latest meeting minutes revealed that 2 members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted against an increase in quantitative easing. Other data released included monthly retail sales figures which were much worse than expected. Public sector net borrowing figures released today will be the main news on the agenda; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro has had a poor week compounded by the German Chancellor’s comments where she expressed her concerns for the “European project" in general. Weak Spanish bond auctions continued to weigh on the euro with the benchmark 10 year bond yields rising back above the 7% mark yesterday. German inflation data is released today; but, the Eurogroup meetings will be the main news on the agenda as the finance ministers meet to discuss the details for the bailout of the Spanish banking sector. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote

The US dollar had a mixed week as risk aversion dominated the market and a raft of poor data was released. Weak data this week included the number of people claiming unemployment benefits rising by much more than anticipated, core retail sales and retail sales figures missing expectations, the manufacturing index figures from Philadelphia were lower than predicted and the number of existing homes sold in the previous month dropped significantly when a rise had been expected. All this poor data would suggest that the Federal Bank would need to loosen monetary policy soon to boost the economy; but, despite this the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank provided little clear indication that quantitative easing would be implemented in the short term. With little data out of the US today, the markets will look elsewhere for influence; so, call in now for a live rate and the live update.

Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was one of the best performing currencies this week following the Australian monetary policy meeting suggesting that another rate cut was not imminent. The Japanese yen was also strong this week due to its status as a safe haven currency in a risk adverse market. Quarterly import prices figures were released from Australia overnight; however, the main news on the agenda is the Canadian Core CPI. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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Sterling had a mixed day as the Bank of England’s latest meeting minutes revealed that the decision to increase quantitative easing by £50 billion was not unanimous as 2 members voted not to increase the asset purchase facility. This lack on unity causes concern for some investors as it is clear that not all the MPC members have the same view on how to tackle the current economic downturn. Unemployment figures in the UK have dropped to 8.1%; but, questions remain as to how much of this is employment is temporary work due to the Olympics. Other employment data showed the change in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits was in line with expectations. Monthly retail sales figures released today will be the main news on the agenda; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro struggled yesterday as risk aversion dominated the market following the German Chancellor expressing her concerns for the future of the euro. Spanish bond yields rose again despite falling back briefly on Tuesday and in a similar vein, the two year German bond auction yesterday registered negative yields for the first time ever underlining investors’ risk concerns at present with a flight to safety. Trade balance figures are the main release of note on an otherwise quiet day in Europe; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar performed well yesterday due to its status as a safe haven currency in a risk adverse market. The Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank was speaking once again; but, failed to provide any more clarity merely suggesting that the current situation was “unsustainable” and that the Federal Bank was ready to take action if necessary. Positive data released showed that the number of housing starts has increased posting a figure of 760,000 whilst the number of new residential building permits granted came in as expected. Out today, figures depicting the number of existing homes sold in the previous month, the change in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits and the manufacturing index figures from Philadelphia are all released on a busy day for the US data. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the Japanese yen was one of the best performers yesterday due to risk aversion, whilst the Australian dollar also performed well. The Bank of Canada’s monetary policy report and press conference yesterday outlined the expectation that Canadian economic growth would struggle due to weak global and domestic conditions.

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Sterling had a relatively weak day as inflation data in the form of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures came in lower than expected posting a figure of 2.4%. This provided some respite to consumers, but, created downward pressure on the pound as it underlines the sentiment that the UK economy is slowing down. The Bank of England’s latest meeting minutes are released today which are expected to show that all 9 members voted for the increase in quantitative easing by £50 billion; but, some economists predict that a few of the members voted for an even larger increase. We will have to wait and see. The change in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits will also be announced; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The euro started the day fairly strong after a successful Spanish bond auction; but, came under pressure as German business climate sentiment and (ZEW) economic sentiment were both worse than expected. With very little data released across Europe today, the markets will look elsewhere for influence; so, call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

The US dollar had a fairy poor start to the day; but, strengthened due to risk aversion as the markets were left disappointed by the lack of clarity provided by the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank. It was hoped that the Chairman would give a clear signal towards more quantitative easing when he was speaking yesterday; but, instead provided little new information and simply reiterated his sentiment from last week, indicating that the central bank were ready to act should market conditions require it. On the data front, Core CPI figures released came out as expected at 0.2%. Today, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank is speaking once again, whilst figures showing the change in the number of new residential building permits granted in the previous month will also be released. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

Elsewhere, the Australian dollar was fairly strong yesterday as minutes from the latest Australian monetary policy meeting suggested that another rate cut was not imminent. Other news released included the Bank of Canada keeping interest rates on hold as expected. The Bank of Canada’s monetary policy report and press conference will be the main news on the agenda today as the markets look for further insight into yesterday’s interest rate decisions as well as information on the state of the economy. Call in now for the latest news and a live quote.

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